Your name saw this post on The ActiveRain Real Estate Network and thought it might be of interest to you. Please see the link below to review the post.

Can the Buyer Qualify for More?
Can the Buyer Qualify for More?
 
"We're about to write a counter offer so I needed to check with you to make sure the buyer can qualify for a higher amount", said the listing agent.
 
"Yes, they will qualify for a max of $______!!", said the inexperienced loan officer who is super excited to be about to have a deal to work on.

     "Clever" listing agents ask this question all the time in hope that they'll get a lender to divulge some information that may land a few extra thousand dollars in their seller's pocket.  Can you blame them when their job is to get their seller top dollar?  I don't.  I've seen some lenders get upset about this line of questioning, and some agents deem the practice "unethical".
 
     I think it's just a way to dig, and while digging is dirty work, sometimes you hit gold.  The bigger point, though, is that a lender should be able to field that question in a way that accomplishes 2 things:
 
 - Informs the listing agent as to where the lender's loyalty lies, without being rude, and without divulging anything about the buyer that the listing agent doesn't already know (except for the fact ... more

__________________________________________________
Are you on The Rain? Grow Your Network!